1. Field of Invention
The present invention addresses retrieval of a hovering aircraft, especially in turbulent winds or onto a rough or irregularly-moving surface, such as the deck of a ship in a rough sea. The present invention is especially suited to unmanned aircraft of small size, and requires only modest accuracy in automatic or manual piloting.
2. Description of Prior Art
Hovering aircraft, be they helicopters, thrust-vectoring jets, “tail-sitters,” or other types, usually land by gently descending in free thrust-borne flight onto a landing surface, coming to rest on an undercarriage of wheels, skids, or legs. This elementary technique can be problematic in certain situations, for example when targeting a small, windswept landing pad on a ship moving in a rough sea. Decades ago, the Beartrap or RAST system was developed to permit retrieval with acceptable safety in such conditions. Retrieval with this system involves securing a line between a helicopter and landing deck, and then winching the helicopter down onto a trolley. The helicopter is fastened to the trolley. After retrieval, the trolley is used to move the helicopter along the deck. The system is effective and widely used, but requires an expensive and substantial plant in the landing area, and coordination between aircraft and ground crew. Furthermore, the helicopter must carry a complete undercarriage in addition to the necessary Beartrap components.
By comparison, simple methods for retrieving aircraft from wing-borne flight into a small space have been described in U.S. Pat. No. 6,264,140 and U.S. Pat. No. 6,874,729. These involve flying the aircraft into a cable suspended in an essentially vertical orientation. Typically, the cable strikes a wing of the aircraft and slides spanwise along the wing into a hook; the hook snags the cable; the cable decelerates the aircraft briskly but smoothly; and the aircraft comes to rest hanging by its hook. Advantages of this technique include: simplicity of the apparatus; relatively easy targeting, since the aircraft can make contact anywhere within its wingspan and almost anywhere along the cable; elimination of undercarriage from the aircraft; and safety, since the aircraft simply continues in wing-borne flight if it misses the cable, and since all components, apart from the cable itself, are kept well clear of the flight path.